BPL Technology To Provide Internet Access To Rural India

Corinex Communications, a provider of Powerline and Coaxial networking products, will lead a new project to provide Internet access to villages in India through Broadband over Powerline (BPL) technology. The technology will connect adjoining villages in India to the Internet using existing powerlines to transfer broadband Internet access. Corinex's BPL technology is one of the recipients of joint science and technology research awards and development initiatives between India and Canada.

The objective of this R&D project is to develop BPL technology to suit Indian conditions so the technology can be later deployed for large scale use. The technology will deliver multi-fold benefits to India when it connects villages throughout the country to the Internet. Corinex's BPL technology will provide access to multiple forms of communication including the World Wide Web and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

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Vancouver-based Corinex will be working with the Indian Institute of Information Technology (Allahabad) and Maple Leaf India based in New Delhi for the above initiative.

Scott Despot, senior director of Sales at Corinex Communications said, "Bringing Internet connectivity to remote villages in India with Corinex's Broadband over Powerline technology is a very exciting endeavour, and we look forward to the project."

"This opportunity will allow us to showcase suitability of BPL technology for mass deployment opportunities across India," said Retaish Parimoo, GM of Maple Leaf India.

The research award to Corinex Communications will be used for project deployment of the BPL solution in two campuses. Ten villages are targeted to be completed approximately one year from the day work begins – subject to various factors. It is anticipated deployment will be completed in the villages, connecting about 3,000 users, within the next 18 months. During this period, research and development will also be focussed towards making this technology adoptable in India for intelligent grid, automatic meter reading, power management applications, etc.

Once the technology is deployed on a large scale, the revenues will be generated every month for the total life span of the equipment with minimal maintenance costs. Also, since the same infrastructure will be usable for intelligent grid management as well, there will be significant benefits for the utility in using this technology, hence, the investments in this technology development are well justified.